Senior Space Mission Architect & Proposals

Open Cosmos; Harwell; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Open Cosmos is seeking a Senior Mission Concept Engineer to lead the definition and development of advanced space mission concepts from initial customer discussions to fully developed proposals. You will shape missions with customers, translate needs into robust, commercially viable solutions, and guide proposal efforts with internal and external partners.

You will drive architecture design across space, ground, and launch, engage with institutional and commercial customers, and mentor others

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on experience defining and analysing complex space missions including constellation sizing, orbital analysis, payload integration, communications, AOCS or system trades.
• Specialisation in a mission domain such as embedded software, satellite operations, mission control systems, or flight dynamics.
• Experience leading technical workstreams or proposals in commercial or institutional contexts (ESA, UKSA, EC, etc.).
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to perform delta‑V or power budgeting and trade studies.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of complex missions across Earth observation, telecommunications, and technology demonstration.
• Define mission architectures across space, ground, and launch segments.
• Engage directly with customers to refine requirements and shape solutions.
• Lead or contribute to proposal development, ensuring technical credibility and cost realism.
• Support consortium definition, structuring partnerships and contributions across the value chain.
• Contribute to early-stage mission shaping and feasibility assessments.
• Collaborate with engineering, project management, and commercial teams to produce coherent mission concepts and proposals.
• Develop tools, models, and approaches to assess mission performance, risk, cost, and schedule.
• Mentor colleagues and contribute to the evolution of Open Cosmos’ mission design capabilities.

Skills

Mission design

Orbital analysis

Payload integration

AOCS

System trades

Customer engagement

Proposal development

Pre-sales

Team mentoring

Cross-functional

Job description

Open Cosmos is seeking a Senior Mission Concept Engineer to lead the definition and development of advanced space mission concepts from initial customer discussions to fully developed proposals. You will shape missions with customers, translate needs into robust, commercially viable solutions, and guide proposal efforts with internal and external partners.

You will drive architecture design across space, ground, and launch, engage with institutional and commercial customers, and mentor others